00:00One of, if not the most compelling of these matchups in this one o'clock slate in the
00:04NFC North, one of the most competitive divisions, Joe, that we've seen in the NFL and maybe
00:08the last decade.
00:09And we have two of the best teams in the NFL, but bottom of the pack in the division going
00:14at it today in the Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers.
00:17This one taking place at Lambeau Field at 1 p.m.
00:20Eastern.
00:20Really interesting matchup here.
00:22You have Green Bay who's building all of this momentum coming off a dominant performance
00:25against the New England Patriots last week.
00:27They are the favorite here going up against a Minnesota team that has had their question
00:31marks.
00:31Most of those question marks coming on the offensive side of the football.
00:34They're hoping they're hoping to answer one of those questions today, bringing in Kirk
00:38Cousins from the Las Vegas Raiders, someone that is familiar with this offense, hoping
00:42that he can get them back on the right track and lead them to a much needed victory today
00:46on the road in Lambeau.
00:47What are your thoughts on this game?
00:49I mean, the division is insane.
00:50The game is insane.
00:51This is a spot where I feel like most of the talking heads across ESPN, Fox, what have
00:56you are going to be looking at this surging Packers offense and lay that two and a half.
01:00I don't know.
01:01I might be running to the window for the Minnesota Vikings money line here.
01:04This is a guy, Kirk Cousins, that's familiar with this offense, familiar with this head
01:07coach.
01:08Why can't he help bring this offense back to its full potential?
01:12Well, he certainly can.
01:13Jordan Addison is going to be out for this game, which means even more.
01:15I think Justin Jefferson opportunity with Kirk Cousins.
01:19Statistically, he averaged over 99 yards per game without Kirk Cousins in his career.
01:24It's down to 76 and a half, so it's a very different scenario.
01:27I actually like Jefferson to score a touchdown in this game.
01:29I also like the over on Tucker Craft, and I know that, you know, the Vikings have been
01:34very tough on opposing tight ends, but let's not forget that first week, too, where Tucker
01:39Craft was kind of one of the lone bright spots early on there for Packers team was still
01:42kind of struggling.
01:43I think you're going to get rid of the ball faster with this defense.
01:46I think you see Tucker Craft kind of in there to block and then release quite a bit.
01:49I'm with you.
01:50There's a little bit of an unknown factor now that we have Kirk Cousins back into this contest.
01:53And look, credit to the Green Bay Packers defense as well.
01:56That unit has played very good football.
01:57But to me, this is more of a get off the game and instead look more to the individual
02:02players, especially that Jefferson touchdown and big plus money.
02:06Kirk Cousins, a guy not unfamiliar with getting Justin Jefferson the football, which seemed
02:10to be a problem for, I don't know, every other Minnesota Vikings quarterback they brought
02:14him since him.
02:15So the one guy I do want to question you about, though, is this Gavin Bartholomew coming in
02:19for TJ Hawkinson today.
02:20TJ Hawkinson, a big part of this Minnesota Vikings offense coming into today.
02:24He won't be with the team.
02:25Is that something that could affect this Kirk Cousins and Minnesota Vikings team from moving
02:29the ball down the field?
02:30Possibly.
02:31Look, I know we're all cautiously optimistic here because Cousins knows the playbook.
02:34He knows the verbiage of the scheme.
02:36He knows all these things.
02:37This is a familiar situation and familiar personnel.
02:39I don't think it's going to matter too much in terms for Kirk Cousins there.
02:41I do think it's going to have an interesting impact on some of the running backs as well,
02:44because when you start to limit your availability, like no Hawkinson, no Addison, we start to
02:48look around here, the funnel becomes very different.
02:51You might see a little bit more of a conservative attack here where you see a lot of Aaron Jones,
02:55you see a lot of Jordan Mason, and then some Justin Jefferson as well layered in there.
02:59So that to me is going to be what's so fascinating to watch in this game.
03:02If they can run the football effectively, that's going to be huge because you keep Jordan
03:05Love off the field with how explosive those receivers have been of late Golden and,
03:09of course, Christian Watson as well.
03:10I'll also look for Watson to work in the slot a little bit more like he did last week.
03:14That's going to change the perspective for his day as well, because you have to be out
03:17with the football quick against this ferocious defense of the purple people leaders here.
03:23Both defenses, I think, shining coming into this one.
03:26I like both of these quarterbacks at their number to throw an interception.
03:29Obviously, on their own, it's a little juicy.
03:30Minus 160 about both ways.
03:32At least that's what I was able to find on DraftKings.
03:34However, honestly, I think if you wanted to take a shot pairing those two together, why not?
03:38Both of these defenses healthy, kind of the calling card of both of these organizations
03:43right now.
03:44Obviously, the Green Bay Packers offense has looked a lot better, but I think this Minnesota
03:47Vikings defense is going to be up for this game, trying to support their new quarterback
03:51in Kirk Cousins, and then Green Bay's defense on the other side looking to take advantage
03:54of maybe some miscues between Cousins and those receivers.
